During this trying time, it’s not surprising that so many homeowners are anxious and exhausted. Perhaps you’ve been feeling the same way. If so, keep in mind that the COVID-19 outbreak will eventually wind down and, hopefully, things will be back to normal soon.
We’re all in this together - and we’ll get through it!
Market Update:
After the first full month with social distancing measures in place, the housing market is adjusting to the effects of COVID-19. April sales hit 573 units, a decline of 63 per cent over last year. Prices for the average home are on the decline as well, reflected by the benchmark price, which fell by nearly two per cent compared to last year. New listings this month totalled 1,425 units, a decline of 54 per cent compared to last year. Inventories also declined, but with 5,565 units available, they remained high enough to push the months of supply above nine months. The economic impact of the situation is significant and early indications point toward more job losses and higher unemployment rates.
Challenges in the housing market are expected to persist throughout this year.
Detached:
Detached sales eased by 63 per cent this month compared to last year, with the largest decline in the West district.
• Slower demand was also met with easing supply, as new listings declined by 57 per cent. Overall, inventories eased by 25 per cent compared to last year. Despite the decline in inventory, the months of supply rose to more than eight months.
• The detached benchmark price eased by one per cent over last year, totalling $479,100. Prices managed to remain flat in both the South and South East districts. The highest price decline was in the City Centre, with a drop of more than three per cent.
Attached:
Semi-detached and row properties recorded a significant drop in sales and new listings, causing inventories to decline by nearly 20 per cent. However, with a combined inventory of 1,441 units compared to just 138 sales, the months of supply rose to over 10 months.
• Semi-detached prices eased across all districts for a citywide year-over-year decline of nearly three per cent. The City Centre recorded the largest year-over-year decline at four per cent.
• Row prices declined in all areas except the East district. Citywide row prices declined by more than two per cent for a total of $278,300.
Apartment:
Apartment sales slowed to 95 units. This is a 62 per cent decline over last year. New listings also slowed, but it was not enough to support a larger decline in inventory levels, which only eased by 13 per cent compared to last year. With 1,349 units in inventory, the months of supply rose to 14 months.
• Condominium prices were falling before recent developments in the market and the pace of decline remained relatively unchanged at more than two per cent compared to last year. Since the first energy crisis in 2014, the citywide apartment benchmark price has declined by nearly 19 per cent.
• Year-over-year prices have eased across almost all districts, but the South East district saw the largest year-over-year decline this month at nearly six per cent.
Quick Stats:
April 2019 |
April 2020 |
Y/Y% change |
|
Detached |
|||
Total sales |
927 |
340 |
-63.32% |
Inventory |
3,701 |
2,775 |
-25.02% |
Months of supply* |
3.99 |
8.16 |
104.43% |
Average DOM |
49 |
50 |
1.66% |
Benchmark price** |
$484,200 |
$479,100 |
-1.05% |
Attached |
|||
Total sales |
367 |
138 |
-62.40% |
Inventory |
1,829 |
1,441 |
-21.21% |
Months of supply* |
4.98 |
10.44 |
109.53% |
Average DOM |
62 |
63 |
2.28% |
Benchmark price** |
$315,400 |
$307,400 |
-2.54% |
Apartment |
|||
Total sales |
250 |
95 |
-62.00% |
Inventory |
1,549 |
1,349 |
-12.91% |
Months of supply* |
6.20 |
14.20 |
129.18% |
Average DOM |
68 |
64 |
-5.68% |
Benchmark price** |
$249,800 |
$244,400 |
-2.16% |
*Months of supply: The ratio between inventory and sales which represents the current pace of sales and how long it would take to clear existing inventory.
**Benchmark price: The monthly price of the typical home based on its attributes, providing the best measure of price trends.
Estimating Your Selling Costs
When the time comes to sell your house, you’ll want to determine roughly how much you can expect to net after the sale. To figure that out, you’ll not only need to know how much your house will likely sell for, but also the selling costs you are likely to incur in the process.
The costs of selling vary depending on a number of factors. Here’s a general rundown of what to consider:
- Repairs. You will want your house to look its best to buyers. That may require you to get any needed repairs done before listing. You don’t want a buyer to see a dent in the wall or a dripping faucet.
- Renovations. It might make sense to get a few improvements done to make the house more attractive. For example, you may want to replace old and worn kitchen countertops.
- Legal fees. Selling a house requires a lot of legal work. You’ll need a good real estate lawyer to take care of that for you.
- Commissions. This is usually calculated as a percentage of the sale price.
- Moving costs. Once you sell, you’ll obviously need to move! So, factoring in this expense is a smart idea.
Although this may seem like a long list, selling costs are fairly easy to estimate. Once you have that number, it’s easy to calculate how much money you’ll have available to put towards your next home.